14 January 2018

Worms re-grow brains with old memories?

How much do we really know about memory storage?  This story from National Geographic may make you think again: "Decapitated Worms Re-Grow Heads, Keep Old Memories" by Carrie Arnold (dated July 16, 2013).
After the team verified that the worms had memorized where to find food, they chopped off the worms’ heads and let them regrow, which took two weeks. 
Then the team showed the worms with the regrown heads where to find food, essentially a refresher course of their light training before decapitation. 
Subsequent experiments showed that the worms remembered where the light spot was, that it was safe, and that food could be found there. The worms’ memories were just as accurate as those worms who had never lost their heads.